Object order based on concept analysis and Moebius Inversion Function

摘要

Ordering objects of interest according to a given criterion often provides a useful piece of information to solve a problem of information processing. A new method of linear order based on Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) and Moebius function is described. The description method uses an example of selecting important key indicators in a specific geographical area. An indicator is defined as a characteristic number (weight) representing in a unique way certain important features of the area in question. The weights are assigned to each indicator in different categories. Using FCA, interdependencies among the indicators are analysed and the indicators are sorted according to their importance and uniqueness in the area description. A new method based on Conjugate Moebius Inversion Function (CMI) was used to evaluate the set of indicators selected as representatives for a pilot area. The output of the method is a sequence of objects/indicators ordered according to their calculated value of importance of every indicator. The method described in the article appears to be an important contribution to the evaluation of regional competitiveness in the 5th Framework Programme RTD project "Iron Curtain".